spoken for their moment in time. Their fury, Li Datong, the newspaper editor, told me, arose from "the accumulated desire for expression-just like when a flood suddenly races into a breach." Be- cause a flood moves in whatever direc- tion it chooses, the young conservatives are, to Chinà s ruling class, an unnerving new force. They "are acutely aware that their country, whose resurgence they feel and admire, has no principle to guide it," Harvey Mansfield wrote in an e-mail to me, after his visit. "Some of them see. . . that liberalism in the West has lost its belief in itself, and they turn to Leo Strauss for conservatism that is based on principle, on 'natural right.' This conser- vatism is distinct from a status-quo con- servatism, because they are not satisfied with a country that has only a status quo and not a principle." In the weeks after Tang's video went viral, he made a series of others, about youth, the earthquake, Chinàs leaders. None of his follow-ups generated more than a flicker of the attention of the orig- inal. The Web had moved on-to newer nationalist films and other distractions. As Tang and I approached the torch- relay route, he said, "Look at the peo- ple. Everyone thinks this is their own Olympics." Venders were selling T-shirts, big Chinese flags, headbands, and mini- flags. Tang told me to wait until the torch passed, because hawkers would then cut prices by up to fifty per cent. He was carrying a plastic bag and fished around in it for a bright-red scarf of the kind that Chinese children wear to sig- nal membership in the Young Pioneers, a kind of Socialist Boy Scouts. He tied it around his neck and grinned. He offered one to a passing teen-ager, who politely declined. The air was stagnant and thick be- neath a canopy of haze, but the mood was exuberant. Time was ticking down to the torch's arrival, and the town was coming out for a look: a man in a dark suit, sweating and smoothing his hair; a construction worker in an orange helmet and farmer's galoshes; a bellboy in a vaguely nautical getup. Some younger spectators were wear- ing T-shirts inspired by Chinàs recent troubles: "Love China, Oppose Divi- sions, Oppose Tibetan Independence," read a popular one. All around us, peo- ple strained for a better perch. A woman hung off a lamppost. A young man in a red headband climbed a tree. The crowd's enthusiasm seemed to brighten Tang's view of things, remind- ing him that Chinàs future belongs to him and to those around him. "When I stand here, I can feel, deeply, the com- mon emotion of Chinese youth," he said. 'We are self-confident." Police blocked the road. A frisson swept through the crowd. People surged toward the curb, straining to see over one another's heads. But Tang hung back. He is a patient man. . NEWYORKER.COM Evan Osnos takes questions about China. How to Listen to and Understand Great Music * * . i Gteat CourseS'. Have you ever listened to a favorite piece of music and wanted to know more about it? Have you wondered what it would be like to truly hear music in the way the composer intended? Then you owe it to yourself to try How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3 rd Edition. Using digitally recorded musical passages to illustrate his points, Professor Robert Greenberg of San Francisco Performances takes you inside magnificent compositions by Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and more. These engaging and informative lectures soon have you hearing and enjoying music not just with your ears, but also with your mind and heart. This course is one of The Great Courses a noncredit recorded college lec- ture series from The Teaching Company Award-winning professors of a wide array of subjects in the sciences and the liberal arts have made more than 250 college-level courses that are available now on our website. (l) bI) ..5 Order Today! Offer expires Friday) September 12) 2008 How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3 rd Edition Course No. 700 6 parts, 48 lectures (45 minutes/lecture) r:: <Q> How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3 rd Edition Taught by Professor Robert Greenberg, San Francisco Performances Course Curriculum Part I: The Ancient World through the Early Baroque (Lectures 1-8) Part II: The High Baroque (Lectures 9-16) Part III: The Classical Era I (Lectures 17-24) 12 DVDs NOW $179.95 + $25 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee 48 Audio CDs NOW $129.95 + $20 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee Part IV: The Classical Era II and the Age of Revolution-Beethoven (Lectures 25-32) Part V: 19 th -Century Romanticism (Lectures 33-40) Part VI: From Romanticism to Modernism-1848 to 1913 (Lectu res 41-48) 24 Audiotapes NOW $94.95 + $15 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee Priority Code: 29098 A 1-800- TEACH-12 NOtvJ www.TEACH12.com/6nyr THE NEW YORKER, JULY 28, 2008 37